Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,626,470 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $478,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 262,284 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $34,855,000 after purchasing an additional 3,610 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,418,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 77.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 272,114 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $35,919,000 after buying an additional 118,874 shares during the last quarter. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 60.6% during the first quarter. McAlvany Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,071 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $6,388,000 after buying an additional 18,143 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,594 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.6%

COP opened at $114.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $135.87. The stock has a market cap of $139.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $113.48 and a 200-day moving average of $113.37.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips agreed to acquire a 42% stake in BP’s Iraq venture, increasing its exposure to the Kirkuk oilfields and more than 3 billion barrels of recoverable resources. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s Iraq agreement is part of a broader wave of U.S. corporate commitments to support Iraqi energy development, which may signal additional international growth potential. Financial Post article
• Positive Sentiment: Energy shares were broadly stronger, helping support ConocoPhillips alongside a sector-wide move higher. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports noted that COP tends to move with crude oil prices, so commodity trends remain an important near-term driver for the stock. Kalkine Media article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on COP. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Capital One Financial dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.04.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.